More and more bands these days are releasing their albums on vinyl, which I think is really cool. However, isn't most recording these days digital? In that case, does the vinyl copy provide any auditory advantage?
[more inside]
posted by mekily
on Jul 22, 2010 -
22 answers
Every few days there is a huge BOOM! that seems to emanate from Boston Harbor. It really echoes throughout downtown. What causes it?
posted by Admiral Haddock
on Jul 19, 2010 -
18 answers
Why do the pipes in my house make a groaning sound when the front sprinklers turn on in the morning?
[more inside]
posted by Spyder's Game
on Jul 1, 2010 -
3 answers
What is this recurring deep,
loud buzzing sound (and vibrations) in my house? It only happens in one spot, and many members of the family have heard/felt it. (No, getting it checked out is not an option currently on the table, I'll explain below).
[more inside]
posted by flibbertigibbet
on Jun 24, 2010 -
28 answers
I'm considering purchasing a pair of Bose Companion 3 speakers at a local retailer where I receive a hefty discount. I should be able to leave with them for roughly $175 as opposed to the retail $250. Is this a justifiable purchase?
[more inside]
posted by vmrob
on Jun 21, 2010 -
14 answers
Has anyone done a Killawatt (or similar) analysis of an
EcoTune Duet sound machine? I am trying to find average running costs for this. Our current white noise machine of choice is a fan that runs at 38 watts. I've priced the rotary fan motor-based
Marpac Sleepmate but at 13 watts max volume by Killawatt there just isn't enough delta between this and an actual fan.
posted by meehawl
on Jun 20, 2010 -
3 answers
i need an airhorn for tomorrow (Saturday) - where can I buy one locally?
[more inside]
posted by denaps
on Jun 18, 2010 -
4 answers
Ding! Who said that? I'm looking for a Windows (XP) utility that logs which apps send sounds to the speaker, so I can tell where random little dings and stuff come from.
posted by Myself
on Jun 14, 2010 -
5 answers
Was the "shing" sound in
this logo animation created with a synthesizer? If so (or if it could have been done that way), how? I have the typical audio FX software installed and would like to know how to create a nice synthetic SHINGGGG! sound.
[more inside]
posted by circular
on Jun 1, 2010 -
3 answers
Does anyone remember a downloadable bios patch to fix sound problems on an HP Pavillion PC? I need it!
[more inside]
posted by Eicats
on May 14, 2010 -
1 answer
Is there an objective way to measure audio fidelity? If so, what is it? In other words, what quality of headphones and speakers makes the differences in sound quality?
posted by fizzzzzzzzzzzy
on May 2, 2010 -
7 answers
What, besides the volume, distinguishes the sound ("timbre") of a string quartet and chamber orchestra? Put another way, if I took a recording of myself singing, and overlaid 100 copies of the track on top of each other, would I sound like a choir section?
posted by Busoni
on Apr 24, 2010 -
11 answers
I want to record/create/find the kind of groaning/sudden pinging/twanging noise you get when a large metal structure is under a lot of stress. Suggestions for how to achieve this?
[more inside]
posted by Zarkonnen
on Apr 14, 2010 -
7 answers
How can I listen to music from my PC on a home theater while utilizing my sub woofer? I have my PC in a different room, hooked up with an optical cable to my home theater receiver. When I play music from iTunes on my PC, the sound only comes out of my main floor speakers and not my sub woofer. Is this possible with regular music tracks?
[more inside]
posted by dpollitt
on Apr 13, 2010 -
11 answers
I have a soundcard with a MIDI port. Is there software out there that would allow me to change the tuning of my MIDI keyboard and play it in real-time through my speakers?
posted by archagon
on Mar 26, 2010 -
9 answers
What purpose does the ball inside a whistle serve? My kid just got a clear whistle and watching him use it... the ball just sits there.
posted by Paleoindian
on Mar 20, 2010 -
4 answers
I have a pretty bad case of night terrors. I am turning to the hive mind to help me identify a cheap and effective solution/device that will record the times when I'm audible throughout the night. I don't want to know what I'm saying as it sometimes freaks me out (nothing scary, I'm just weirded out by listening to myself yell/whisper subconciously). So a tape/voice recorder is out of the running.
In short, I need to know what time I make noise, and maybe a little squiggle or number on a piece of paper/read out screen letting me know how loud I was relative to the rest of that night (I'm thinking of the needle that scrbbles on rolling paper with a time stamp next to it like a seizmograph).
Any suggestions? This can be hand made or purchased as long as it's not too expensive :-)
posted by WhereAmI
on Mar 15, 2010 -
8 answers
Looking for articles and essays concerning the early days of the phonograph and radio--especially the cultural impact.
[more inside]
posted by captainsohler
on Feb 21, 2010 -
5 answers
I'm going to conduct an interview over Skype for a podcast. What (free) tools are at my disposal for recording and editing? Any advice gratefully appreciated.
posted by Frasermoo
on Feb 18, 2010 -
7 answers
[MacFilter] Anyone know of a piece of OS X software that will allow me to independently set the audio balance (L-R) of different applications?
[more inside]
posted by supercres
on Feb 18, 2010 -
7 answers
I record university lectures for podcasting, but I'm finding I can't rely on plugging in to the lecture hall audio system to get a clean recording. Given I have a digital field recorder with XLR inputs, what sorts of equipment (mics, mixer, etc.) could I pick up for $500 total that could allow me to make a decent recording of a lecture?
[more inside]
posted by dw
on Feb 16, 2010 -
11 answers
Ear anatomy filter: How come vibration pressure increased by 22 time as sound travels from tympanic membrane to the base of the stapes while tympanic membrane is only 17 time larger than the base of the stapes?
[more inside]
posted by Carius
on Feb 5, 2010 -
1 answer
I need to create about 8 gender-neutral, speech-synthesized audio files of variants of a made up word for a research project I'm working on. What program should I use to do this? Is there a really simple way to complete this task? What's a good resource or tutorial that I can walk myself through?
[more inside]
posted by iamkimiam
on Feb 5, 2010 -
11 answers
Going to buy a new computer and connect it to already-owned surround speakers and HD monitor. I want to be able to play Blu-Rays with nice HD sound if possible. I'm an HD, HDMI, Blu-Ray and recent-PC-hardware virgin, and will need to be led through this like I'm a kid.
[more inside]
posted by paperpete
on Feb 2, 2010 -
8 answers
How can I get Outlook and GMail Notifier to play different sounds for the new mail notification?
[more inside]
posted by randomstriker
on Jan 26, 2010 -
1 answer
Please help my diagnose a problem with my ageing laptop making high pitched noises at random intervals.
[more inside]
posted by Solomon
on Jan 17, 2010 -
12 answers
My new laptop has terrible speakers. Please help me make it better, or make the best of a bad situation.
[more inside]
posted by gursky
on Jan 8, 2010 -
4 answers
AudiophileFilter: Building a 7.1 monitoring system in a seminar room, for very discerning listeners. My question is mostly about powered monitor speakers, and it's long.
[more inside]
posted by fourcheesemac
on Jan 3, 2010 -
7 answers
Flash sound stopped working in both IE and firefox. I'm using windows 7.
This has been driving me crazy for the last week - I think, somewhere along the line, I was running a few anti-malware apps and something may have gotten deleted. There's no sound whatsoever from any kind of flash, be it youtube, lastfm, or a web ad.
[more inside]
posted by brocklanders
on Dec 28, 2009 -
9 answers
Disappearing sound on the computer. ONLY on Hulu, YouTube, playlist.com, but not mp3's. Complication: not having administrator privileges to deal with it.
[more inside]
posted by jenfullmoon
on Dec 7, 2009 -
8 answers
Where can i find a cheap dB meter that can meter a low dB? (say 30-50 dB)
[more inside]
posted by ilike
on Nov 5, 2009 -
4 answers
Why does music on my MP3 player sound better with small earphones than with big headphones?
[more inside]
posted by murtagh
on Nov 1, 2009 -
10 answers
Is there an audio plugin that will emulate the mono sound compression used by AM radio stations?
posted by Yakuman
on Oct 29, 2009 -
8 answers
What's this creaking sound my car is making and how long should I wait to get it fixed?
[more inside]
posted by pised
on Oct 26, 2009 -
12 answers
